Spirits are around us all the time. They move in and out of our world… in and out of our lives constantly. I’ve spent the past 20 years proving this to be true, thanks to the amazing results of ITC research done by friends and colleagues in Europe… and thanks especially to the somewhat extraordinary and eccentric spirit-face photos I’ve accumulated in recent years… courtesy of Jack Stucki and the late Patrick Richards, who acquainted me with the “luminator.” (click here for sample photos)

Yes, I know that spirits are real… and I know they influence us on a daily basis. If you review my work with an objective mind—free of dogmas, ideologies, cultivated preconceptions and fears—then you know it too.

Now… for your own sake, disregard it.

That may seem like an odd, contradictory statement—to acknowledge spiritual influences and to ignore them—but I’ve come to realize its importance lately, while researching the influence of spirits on people with mental illness. What I’ve learned applies to just about all of us: Spirits are as pervasive as the air around us, and in our day-to-day lives we should give them the same attention we give the air: None.

There are times we focus on air, such as during breathing exercises and breathing meditations… and there are appropriate times to focus on spirits, such as during prayer, skilled mediumship, and serious ITC research… but on a daily basis we have more important matters to contend with. After all, there are many obstacles, pitfalls, and traps in this world… and we need to keep our feet planted firmly on the ground as we walk the Earth. If we don’t pay attention to the physical world around us, we can get hurt.

More important, the more we think about spirits, the more we attract them into our lives… and the more influence they have on us. That can be a wonderful thing when we pray to God or give thanks to our ethereal guides (angels) or feel warmth in the heart for departed loved ones on birthdays, holidays, and anniversaries… but it can be an unsettling experience at best, and at worst agonizing, when we open ourselves to the vast dark cloud of troubled people who linger around the Earth as spirits in a confused state after they die.

For that reason, I believe, we humans on Earth have built-in blinders that block our view of spirits. We’ve evolved, down through the ages, with these mental blocks against the many spiritual influences around us for our own good… to keep us focused on the task at hand: Living in this world. The more we think about spirits indiscriminately, the more they’re attracted to us—especially the confused ones—and the more we have to contend with foul moods, bad dreams, and accidents. So we’ve evolved with built-in blinders.

When the blinders are removed, there can be problems. That’s true for all of us. It’s especially true when we’re sick or injured or stressed out or using alcohol or pleasure drugs… and it’s most especially true for people suffering schizophrenia, a mental disorder that makes it difficult to tell the difference between real and unreal experiences, to think logically, to have normal emotional responses, and to behave normally in social situations.

Schizophrenia, I believe, is a case of faulty blinders. Many people with schizophrenia see and hear the spirits that other people can’t see and hear. They live in two worlds at once—this physical world and the worlds of spirit. The realities of those two worlds are so vastly different that simple day-to-day living can be a hopelessly confusing and unsettling ordeal for those suffering schizophrenia. Here are some of the common symptoms of schizophrenia that suggest the sufferers are trapped between two realities (with my comments in parentheses):

An overpowering, intense feeling that people are talking about you, looking at you. (Spirits around us do indeed watch us and talk about us. Without the blinders that “normal” people have, it can be annoying to say the least.)

An overpowering, intense feeling that you’re being watched, followed, and spied on, as though with tracking devices, implants, hidden cameras. (For spirits to move in and out of our world and to stay close to certain individuals occurs naturally to them… that is, “natural” by the laws of their world. But by the laws and realities of our world, such close, constant observation seems impossible without the application of advanced surveillance technologies… which makes schizophrenia seem delusional when sufferers explain their experiences.)

A strong sense that people are colluding to harass you. (Many sufferers are badly upset by the unworldly sights and sounds they perceive, and their fears attract spirits who stir up the fears even more. They tend to “gang up” on a a sensitive person with chronically troubled feelings.

A strong sense that people can read your mind and control your thoughts. (Telepathy is the “normal” mode of communication among spirits, so they can and do read our thoughts… and they also influence our thoughts.)

The notion that your thoughts are being broadcast over radio or TV. (Again, thoughts are broadcast by all of us, and they’re picked up by receptive minds, especially the sub-conscious minds of spirits… but again, the conscious mind of a schizophrenia sufferer uses worldly explanations—radio transmissions—to try to reconcile what’s happening to him or her… and to most of us it sounds delusional.)

Delusions of grandeur—the feeling that you’re a great world prophet with a mission to save the world. (I suspect that such thoughts are ignited and fanned by confused and troublesome spirits.)

This is the reality we inhabit, folks. I know this to be true, based on two decades of afterlife research, especially ITC. And I believe it is in everyone’s best interest 1) to acknowledge this truth, and 2) to disregard it.

Know that spirits are right here, all around us… but don’t dwell on it. Stay focused on the day-to-day.

And the best way to deal with schizophrenia, I believe, is to remove the stress from the lives of those who suffer it. Remove the stress, and the suffering will go away. Stress stirs up fears, which attract troublesome spirits that can make the lives of sufferers a living hell.

Nearly everyone with schizophrenia is subject to severe stress, not just from the outside (by people pressuring them to be “normal”), but also from inside (the turmoil from trying to reconcile the powerful norms of society with the overpowering norms of spirit). The external and internal sources of stress can make schizophrenia unbearable.

Remove the stress from schizophrenia, and the condition will transform from a “mental illness” or “brain disorder,” to a condition of spiritual awareness. As the person’s life becomes anchored in happiness and love, troublesome spirits will drift away as playful, supportive spirits move in close to make life more joyful. Instead of suffering delusions, the person will begin to receive spiritual insights, wisdom, and love from the finer realms inhabited by ethereal beings.

So, those external influences of schizophrenia sufferers (mental health professionals, the families and friends of sufferers, and society in general) can remove stress by redefining “normalcy.” It’s time to acknowledge that spirits move in and out of our world constantly, and that they influence our lives in profound ways. Then, we won’t burden sufferers of schizophrenia with stigmas like “hallucinating,” “delusional,” “paranoid,” and “mentally ill.” Such stigmas cause more stress in the lives of those who carry them.

Acknowledge spiritual reality, remove the stigmas and stress, set up loving, supportive environments… and schizophrenia will quickly vanish. In its place will emerge a legion of brilliant, sensitive seers who’ll grace the world with tremendous insights from the finest realms of spirit.

Dear Mark, This is my first time reading your blog. I’d like to say thank you for what I, at least, feel is a very lucid and well-grounded post. I suffer from schizophrenia, and your explanation of spirits and faulty blinders makes total sense to me. I also agree that the best coping mechanism I have for “my voices” is to ignore them, period. I also have worked very hard to remove stress from my life, which being on disability and out of the full-time workforce has been a blessing for. I wish more people in our society would at least consider the existence of spirits as a potential explanation for the strange behavior of schizophrenics. And you’re right about the label of mental illness too — that in and of itself is very debilitating and isolating. Finally, I would like to share that in very enlightened and positive and spiritually advanced company, I have experienced my voices change into positive, wise, and benevolent spirits. I wish I could live in such an elevated state each day — that is what I am striving to create in my life, but living within “normal” society makes creating that better reality a difficulty. Also, I just re-started my blog, which can be found at http://myschizophrenia.wordpress.com/. It’s a blog about the recovery process. Might I perhaps add a link to this post in my blog? I feel it may be of benefit to readers. Thanks for your time, Stephanie

Hi Stephanie, Thanks so much for commenting on this. Yes, I’d be honored if you linked this on your good blog. (I just read your latest post, which supports what I’ve felt about the overall harmful effects of pharmaceuticals in many cases.)
I’m also delighted to hear that being in “enlightened and positive and spiritually advanced company” has led to a ‘higher class’ of spiritual influences for you. If you would please keep me updated on this, it would mean a lot to me… since you’re putting into practice what I’m relating based on second-hand experience and theory. If you know of other people having similar experiences (a more loving state of mind alleviating the darker side of the condition called schizophrenia), I’d also love to hear their experiences… and to share the details of their stories on this blog.
Blessings to you and the greatest of happiness…
Mark

I read a good book recently (Connections), written by a young man with schizophrenia (Mike Hedrick). Here’s the review I wrote for it on Amazon.com:
“I met Mike’s dad, who assured me the amazing and unsettling experiences in this book are true… making it the best story I’ve read to date showing how the schizophrenic mind works. The ‘personal messages’ that Mike receives from his surroundings compel him to save the world and lead him to the United Nations in New York (where better to materialize such a lofty dream?)… which is closed for the weekend (thudding the author down to reality)… leaving Mike to drift for awhile… hopeless, homeless… eventually winding up groping through the north woods toward Canada on blistered, painful feet. The unlikely (but true) conditions that save his life show that guardian angels are real, and they can come in surprising forms.”

Hello Mr. Macy,
another interesting article from you, thank you for that.
But do you think it’s possible to disregard spirits just like that – even if you know they are real, and it’s probably the most fascinating information on the Earth ?
I found your ITC research website few years ago, I studied all materials for long hours – I have to admit these hours were really worth it.
After I “accepted” spirits into my life, It seems much easier than before. Most of the time I feel very delighted and happy, depressions don’t bother me anymore. I can’t imagine how my life would look like without awareness of spirits anymore. I know that attracting bad spirits is not very pleasant experience, but if your mind is pure, all you attract is the good ones.

Thank you for that, Patrik.
Being aware of spirits has been a daily part of my life, too, for nearly 20 years… so I think I did not explain things very clearly in the article above.
I’ll think about that and maybe try again in a later article.
Mark

I thought you and other readers of this page may be interested to read Gateway of Understanding which was published in 1934. It very much relates to what you have written. There is a pdf version available to read for free on spiritwritings.com or you can open it directly via this link:

Thanks Mandy,
Our minds are going along the same lines.
After posting the article above, I actually did a follow-up article:https://macyafterlife.com/2011/04/04/spirit-guides-spirit-visitors-or-spirit-attachments-or/
… where I talk about the work of Carl Wickland, whom you linked to.
He was one of the modern-day pioneers of spirit influences on human psychology.
Primitive cultures were aware of the connection in ages past, and many tribes still are today…one of those situations of modern medicine having to play catch-up with ancient knowledge….
Mark

This is all speculation at this point… and I guess I won’t be too surprised if a releasement therapist someday finds a connection… or if a regression therapist finds that the spirit that actually incarnates (the one who is ‘assigned’ for lifetime to inhabit a newborn’s body) has qualities that manifest as autism as the child grows.

In addition to what most consider high-functioning autism, I am currently suffering from a severe case of mind boggle. Does being almost 55 years old mean having to wait until crossover time?
It is so mind-shaking to think I have been listening to recordings from the other side, but I myself have never experienced anything to indicate there is another reality. The anxiety and fear associated with autism may make it impossible to access the other side during this lifetime.

Hi David,
Would you mind trying a meditation I developed with The Monroe Institute?
TMI has a sound technology called “Hemi-Sync” that uses stereo sounds to lull the brain into a meditative state.
I developed a heart meditation with music and narrative, and it has the Hemi-Sync sounds in the background.

Thank you for writing this Mr. Macy, I found it very insightful (if you remember, I emailed you a while back about my spirit attachment issue) definately re-adjusting my thoughts back on day to day things helps fade the voices I hear

Hi Mr. Macy,
My situation is still ongoing, though I’m becoming more desensitized to the voices with time so they have little effect on me or my emotions anymore, but they are still an annoyance.

My attachment though does like to create physical sensations on my body while I’m trying to sleep at night, such as vibrations, slight pokes and jabs, etc…it’s terribly annoying and forces me to take a sleep aid on most nights.

I’ve just started reading Carl Wicklands book so I hope to gain some insight there and perhaps try some of his methods for dealing with attachment situations

I’ve also recently started experimenting with sounds that might bother my attachment in the hope that perhaps it will annoy my attachment to the point where it’ll give up and leave, I’m trying everything from high frequency sound emitters to constant yodeling music played for hours on end….I figure there’s got to be something that would make my immediate environment less appealing for this negative spirit to be around…it’s now a game of endurance between us I suppose

Hi Brian, this is just a thought but perhaps giving the attachment your time and attention by playing it music is keeping it from leaving altogether. You can try telling it to leave and that you don’t need or want it. I had an attachment too, I was convinced I was crazy, but it also presented itself with physical activity, crashing sounds, door and window banging etc which my partner also witnessed. In the end I released the fear I was holding towards it, without me it was powerless. Most people who have no experience of such things would infact say I was crazy, but I heard my attachment loud and clear, it would even mimic friends voices as I was speaking to them, confusing me and creating distrust towards people. In the end I said enough is enough, I said leave. I called on higher brighter beings to help me, I asked for protection, I prayed (I’m not particularly religious), I prayed to all the positivity in the universe to help banish it. Things have settled down completely now. If ever I notice anything unusual / paranormal I just say I acknowledge your presence but I have no connection to you please leave. I believe in most cases such an attachment can only stay around if you continue to pay it attention. It is usually only after things have started to get out of hand that we start to take control, for me it was the voices, and like you the prods/jabs and vibrating, plus floating white or black apparitions and things crashing and banging that made me decide I’m not letting it control my quality of life any further. It reached a point where I thought I’m tired of it being in my life. I did visit a psychic as a last resort who told me I have a male spirit around me trying to frighten me. I guess I just needed to hear from someone else that what I was experiencing was real. Despite this, I was still questioning my sanity. It was only when my partner heard the crashing about and banging, plus muffled speaking that appeared to be coming from the middle of the room, that I accepted it was a spirit and that its time they left. I hope you can release yours too. Even now I do wonder whether mine was actually evil, I don’t think it particularly was, I feel it was just mischievous and pushing boundaries. I do feel however that if I’d continued to live in fear of it, it may have left me open to darker experiences. I’m sure your attachment is probably just a mischeivious type too. I hope you are able to say good bye to it once and for all. I wish you the best.

no doubt it all comes down to learning to ignore, I’ve made some great progress, I no longer fear my attachment and I don’t pay any mind to what it says anymore
it’s a hard to block it out completely. at times.. my attachment can make it’s voice(s) much louder when it’s speaking over a background noise such as a fan, etc…
and the physical sensations are tough to ignore as well
but on the plus side, I find that I’m naturally coming to ignore it better with time because I’m simply tired of listening….so it’s coming naturally with time, but like with anything else, there’s good days and bad days
anxiety only makes things worse so I have to try and work on that as well

my attachment seems to try and keep my attention as much as possible but I have to re-train my mind to block it out as much as possible

but I do occasionally try an idea or two such as with the noise, you never know, maybe in some cases something simple holds the key….but you’re certainly right…ignoring is the priority…I’ve already seen the benefit from that

Here’s something I’d thought I’d share….I was very fortunate to have met another who also is dealing with an oppressive spirit attachment situation, in both of our cases, the voices we hear are menacing and oppressive, we also deal with physical sensations…which unfortunately are much harder to ignore, through his own strength and determination to rise above this situation, he’s at the point now where he barely hears the voices at all anymore and he has been helping me to get there as well, here’s a letter he wrote me, which I found very inspiring and certainly a great outlook to take on the situation:

“I know how difficult it can be having insult after insult hurled at you, but while it may seem corny and patronizing, there is a lot of truth in the maxim “stick and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” These spirits’ words can only affect you as much as you allow them to, and while the physical symptoms are a whole different ballgame, their words are just that: words.

Sitting and listening to their insults all day only chips away at your mental defenses, and trying to engage them or counter their hate with your own negative thoughts only feeds their pathological behavior. Hating them back accomplishes nothing, and in a way, by generating more negativity directed at them, however well-intentioned it may be, only makes us more like them, which is exactly what they want.

As hard as it may be to accept, part of this whole process is coming to accept your whole self for what it is, warts and all, and whatever skeletons you may have in the closet — and, despite whatever the voices may condemn you for, to focus on improving yourself and becoming a better, more positive person. Rather than see this as some oppressive spiritual or psychological illness, you should instead see it as a rare, albeit strange, opportunity to work on all your imperfections that you’ve been putting off until now. If you’re overweight, work out and make losing weight your goal. If you’re lazy, work on being productive. If you have anger-management issues, work on staying calm. If you suffered from depression prior to hearing the voices, work on seeing things from a more positive, “glass-half-full” perspective.

There is a certain element of “you create your own reality” to the whole experience of hearing voices, and it doesn’t have to be an entirely negative experience if you don’t want it to be. I, for instance, like to see my attachment as a negative alter ego, an evil twin of sorts. Although I know it’s not part of me, nor would I ever attribute it to any part of myself in any way, I also like to see it as a sort of opponent who tests me with trials and hardships just to see if I can overcome them. It may mean me ill, but I can use the negativity it throws at me as ammunition to improve myself. If my attachment calls me stupid, for instance (which it often does), rather than look upon that as a vapid insult only meant to discourage me, I see it as a challenge to read and study more. If my attachment calls me lazy, I’ll exercise. If my attachment calls me ugly, I’ll fix myself up. I don’t let it control me, but I take everything negative that it hurls at me and turn it into something positive. That, in my opinion, is the real way to defeat these things. Do everything that they can’t do: love yourself, love others, be a good person, and always work on improving yourself in whatever way possible.

In a way, it’s the evil in the world that gives even more meaning to the good. If there weren’t evil, how would we even know what good is? As imperfect and cruel as life can be sometimes, I really do believe that us human beings are going through some sort of test to perfect ourselves. We would have never understood good had we not experienced evil, and it is only through this experience that we are granted the choice to be good. In fact, I’d wager to say that us voice hearers are actually going through some sort of express elevation process. It is indeed a double-edged sword, for we do suffer more, but we also learn more and experience love and joy more deeply . Our hardships grant us the ability to empathize with others more, because we’ve experienced the dark side of reality face to face, and we, through our suffering, can understand others’ suffering and use our knowledge of suffering to alleviate the suffering of others.

It is only through this experience that I fundamentally transformed as a person and became who I am now. I only am who I am today because of the things I have suffered, and without this experience, I would not be as deeply attuned to love and beauty as I am today. Prior to my attachment, I was a very pessimistic, non-religious, materialistic, unspiritual person, but now I am the exact opposite. I never used to understand the Christian concept of suffering with Christ, and used to scoff at the very notion, but now I get it. It is our duty, as good people, to assume the burdens of others and make our world less like the dark realms and more like the light realms. It’s very easy to be selfish, but very hard to be generous. These entities have taken the easy way out by choosing evil over good, for it’s a lot easier to run your mouth 24/7 and abuse innocent persons than it is to admit your own faults and improve yourself so that you, in turn, can work to improve others. Let us not be like them, then, and rather do what they can’t do. Would I exchange these profound realizations and my opportunities to help others like you for release from my attachment? Heck no! I’d rather die than give that up. Whether my attachment comes or goes is completely inconsequential to me at this point. As long as it’s here, I’ll only use its evilness to perfect my goodness, for iron sharpens iron.

As you’ve witnessed yourself firsthand, these entities do weaken with time and will gradually expose themselves. , I often pitied myself but now, compared to all the physical deformities and impoverished conditions that so many must live through day to day, I consider spirit attachment to be a fairly minor ailment. Yeah, we have to listen to an invisible bully all day long, but we still have our hands and feet. We have a lot to be thankful for. These entities pity themselves, which is why they don’t empathize with us. Don’t be like them. Enjoy life, be happy, and help others.”

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I try to share on this site only my original information and research material from the world ITC community, supplemented with materials such as pictures and quotes that are available freely on the Internet. If anyone viewing the site finds materials here that should not be shared freely, please contact me so that I can remove them.
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MM
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